Written By Krishna on Friday, March 01, 2013 | 6:43 AM

Budget is immoral, anti-environment, anti-citizens

Collusion between ruling parties,
corporate donations under Companies Bill is hidden. Environmental
concerns made subservient to Cabinet Committee on Investment and
regulatory agencies made toothless. Promotion of hazardous technologies
for generating power from waste is anti-public health, say environmental and human rights activist
Gopal Krishna.

The United Progressive Alliance government’s key mantra or goal for 'higher growth leading to
inclusive and sustainable development' is essentially immoral,
anti-environment, anti-citizen and favourable to commercial czars.

Unmindful of the fact that highly polluting project like Timarpur
Okhla waste-to-energy project is taking a huge toll on human health and
environment the Budget speech unwisely promises to “evolve a scheme to
encourage cities and municipalities to take up waste-to-energy projects
in PPP mode which would be neutral to different technologies. I propose
to support municipalities that will implement waste-to-energy projects
through different instruments such as viability gap funding, repayable
grant and low cost capital.” The finance minister has failed to realise
that waste to energy is neither clean nor green.

The proposed scheme should desist from promoting toxic technologies
like incinerators being used by likes of Jindal Urban Infrastructure
Limited in New Delhi. It must be noted that for every five truckloads of waste burned,
four truckloads are pumped into the atmosphere and one remains as toxic
ash, which still must be carefully stored or landfilled.

There is a case going on against such a technology in the National
Green Tribunal which is due to hear the matter on March 11. Even the
most technologically advanced waste incinerators produce hundreds of
distinct hazardous byproducts including dioxins, heavy metals,
halogenated organic compounds and the newly discovered threat,
nanoparticles. These occur both in toxic air emissions and in ash
residuals.
Such endorsement of the national waste to energy policy of the
ministry for new and renewable energy does not realise that incineration
irreversibly destroys valuable materials and necessitates the
extraction, refinement and assembly of more raw natural resources to
produce new products. Alternatives such as recycling, reuse and repair
and composting conserve energy by efficiently using materials. This
significantly reduces global warming pollution, toxic waste and
ecological degradation.

The proposed scheme must factor in the fact that such technologies
also displace more affordable and economically productive waste and
energy solutions. Alternatives to incineration such as recycling,
repair, reuse and composting create ten times more green jobs and small
business opportunities that benefit local communities. Incinerators
produce more global warming pollution (mainly carbon dioxide) per unit
electricity generated than most other kinds of power including coal, gas
and hydroelectric. Disadvantaged communities are disproportionately
burdened. These communities are more vulnerable to being targeted as
sites for new incinerators.

It is admitted in the Union Budget speech that ‘the development must
be sustainable -- economically and ecologically.’ But the setting up of
Cabinet Committee on Investment has made environmental concerns
subservient to the implementation of industrial projects at any
ecological cost. The decision-making for environmental protection has
been referred to as ‘bottlenecks’ in the Union Budget.

The finance minister admits that ‘the original green revolution
states face the problem of stagnating yields and over-exploitation of
water resources’ but similar green revolution is being pursued in states
like Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

The endorsement of Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor project, the planned Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor and the idea of Bengaluru Mumbai Industrial
Corridor in the Budget is an act of approving environmental destruction
of these regions.

It is quite immoral on the part of the government to have accepted
the recommendations of the Dr Vijay Kelkar committee which recommended
sale of government owned lands which has been acquired for ‘public
purpose’ since 1894.

The Kelkar committee submitted its report onSeptember 3, 2012.
The committee has recommended that over the next two-three years the
government should raise resources by selling unutilised and
under-utilised land of the PSUs, port trusts, and the railways, to fund
the infrastructure sector.

The endorsement of a PPP policy framework for increasing the
production of coal for supply to power producers and other consumers
with Coal India Limited as one of the partners will result in the massive destruction of forests.

The proposed changes in the foreign trade policy to be announced next
month and indicated in the Union Budget speech must steer clear of
promoting hazardous waste trade and hazardous technologies.

The budget speech announced, “The new Companies Bill obliges companies to spend 2 percent of
average net profits under Corporate Social Responsibility. I am glad to
announce that the ministry of corporate affairs will notify that funds
provided to technology incubators located within academic institutions
and approved by the ministry of science and technology or ministry of
MSME will qualify as CSR expenditure.”

Of all the injustices done, the one done in the name of law is the
worst. Although the hollowness of concept of CSR is well known it has
been introduced formally in the Companies Bill, 2011. Clause 135 of the
Companies Bill provides for CSR. Every company having net worth of
Rs 500 crore or more, or turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more or a net
profit of Rs 5 crore or more during any financial year shall spend at
least 2 percent of the average net profits in every financial year on
activities to be undertaken by the company as specified in Schedule VII
of the Bill.

The provision of CSR must be looked at along with the provision in
clause 182 of the Bill. It envisages 7.5 percent of annual profits of
the companies may be given as donations to those political parties which
are registered with the Election Commission. A formal quid pro quo
regime is emerging that will emasculate the political will of the
legislatures to regulate indiscriminate commercial and CSR activities
away from the glare of media.

Schedule VII mentioned in clause 135 provides a list of CSR related activities including eradication
of extreme hunger and poverty, promotion of education, reducing child
mortality and improving maternal health, combating human
immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, malaria and
other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, contribution to
the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund or any other fund set up by
the Central Government or the State Governments etc.

It is noteworthy that the activities that have been
mentioned above are functions of the state towards its citizens. This is
a case of outsourcing functions of the government to companies. It may
have been better if instead of letting companies do CSR activities if
the same 2 percent of their annual profit is collected as tax to create a
fund for undertaking state funding of elections. The prime minister’s
fund itself can collect it. Although meagre, the government of India did
collect compensation money acting as parens patriae (guardian of the nation) after the passage of Bhopal Gas Disaster (Processing of Claims) Act, 1985.

Without disclosing the funding that political parties are the key
beneficiaries, the finance minister says, “I believe there is a little
bit of the spirit of Azim Premji in every affluent tax payer. I am confident that when I ask the
relatively prosperous to bear a small burden for one year, just one
year, they will do so cheerfully.”
This seems to indicate the collusion
between the commercial czars and the ruling alliance.

“By 2025, we could become a $5 trillion economy, and among the top
five in the world,” says the finance minister while concluding his
budget speech. The fact is the Budget paves the way for a $5 trillion
economy which will be dominated by commercial czars at any human and
ecological cost.

Note: The seeds of Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project were shown in Dr Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo in December 2006 and Narendra Modi's visit to Japan in 2007.

Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry prepared a 63 page Concept Paper on DMIC in August 2007. It revealed that an MOU relating to the DMIC has been signed between the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) of India to explore the opportunities for mutual cooperation.

Government of India gave in principle approval in August 2007 to the establishment of the Dedicated Freight Corridor between Delhi and Mumbai, covering length of 1483 km in the seven States of U.P, NCR of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. It is proposed to have end terminals at Dadri in the National Capital Region of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru Port near Mumbai. It is claimed that Delhi Mumbai leg of the Golden Quadrilateral National Highway runs almost parallel to the Freight Corridor.

Among other things DMIC project includes a establishment of a 4000 MW power plant, three seaports and six airports in addition to connectivity with the existing ports.

Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) was incorporated on January 7, 2008 to implement the project on a Public-Private Partnership model with stakeholders from the private sector, PSUs as well as from the Central and State Governments. The First Board Meeting of DMICDC held on January 28, 2008 under the chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Union Ministry of Commerce & Industries.

This project has further been facilitated by 1078 page long India- Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in February 2011 and the visit of Japan's Prime Minister to India in December 2011.
In July 2012, KPMG mentioned DMIC as one of 100 innovative global projects. The implementation of identified nodes under DMIC is expected to be completed by December 2016.

Among other environmental concerns, the status of ground water in the DMIC region merits serious attention. The district wise estimation by Central Ground Water Board
for ground water for the entire country shows that around 41% of
districts in DMIC Region has an over- exploited status of ground water
development, 9% critical, 15% semi- critical and only the rest 35%
districts in DMIC region are considered safe as of now.

Besides DMIC, Union Budget Speech made reference to Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CMIC) and the idea of Bengaluru Mumbai Industrial
Corridor (BMIC) as well. Sources say 10 more such corridors are in the pipeline.